The Chinese Communist Party during the war with Japan
The war record of the Communists contrasted sharply with the
Nationalist’s performance. Unlike Chiang, Mao seemed determined to
take positive action to drive the Japanese out. From 1936 to 1939 the
Communists built up their forces under the brilliant leadership of Lin
Biao. They had virtually no resources – at first they were mainly armed
with spears! However, they knew the countryside and the peasants and
they made excellent use of guerrilla tactics. They cut telegraph wires,
blew up railways and surprised Japanese troops in ambushes, capturing
their weapons.
Guerrilla Warfare
How did the CCP gain support during
the War?
Mao describe the Red Army as the ‘fish who swam
in the sea’, the sea being China’s peasants. The
peasants supported the Communists from the start.
The Red Army lived in the villages with the
peasants. They taught children to spy on the
children that Japanese soldiers were coming, they
would bury food and tools. They would hide away
cattle. The people hid in caves or tunnels under the
village. They laid mines. The Japanese soldiers
never knew what they could touch in one of these
empty villages. An old plough, a parcel, even a dead
cow might explode.
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The Japanese Retaliate
The Japanese responded in 1941 with the ‘Three
All Campaign – kill all, burn all, destroy all’. Their
aim was to turn people against the communists by
burning down their villages and crops and killing
the peasants. The campaign had the opposite effect.
It drove peasants to support the CCP.
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From 1937 onwards they carried out a
successful guerrilla operation against the
Japanese, gradually moving eastwards from
Yanan and taking control of Northern China.
In 1940 the CCP began a campaign known as
the Hundred Regiments Battle in which they
attacked the Japanese controlled railways
system and paralysed Japanese transport.
Small Red Army units struck deep into Japaneseheld territory, hit important targets, and then
retreated back into safety. By working with the
peasants, the communists were soon in control of
the countryside. They never met the Japanese headon, melting away if attacked. When the Japanese
were weak, or caught unawares, they were
suddenly attacked.
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Life in the Communist liberated areas was generally
far better than in those areas under the control of
the KMT. This was mainly due to Mao’s Red Army
which had all the qualities which Chiang and his
officers seemed to lack. The CCP had a core of
dedicated and able leaders. They were not corrupt.
They treated the peasants with courtesy and
respect. As they taught peasants to fight, they also
taught them about Communist beliefs and ideas.
In 1937, the CCP held 30,000 sq miles of China
with 2 million people.
By 1945, when the Japanese surrendered, the
CCP held 300,000 sq miles and 95 million
people!
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Big estates were confiscated from rich lands
and shared among the peasants.
Rents and taxes were reduced and peasants
were given interest-free loans.
Out-dated and undesirable practices were
abolished especially in the lives of women. For
example ‘foot binding’ which involved the
practice of binding girl’s feet tight in bandages
so they grew up with small feet.
Women’s Associations were set up to help
women to free themselves from violent
husbands.
The Red Army was very disciplined and never
treated the peasants badly. In return, the
peasants kept the Red Army informed about
Japanese activities. The Red Army also helped
in the fields and around villages.
Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Read Source A. Why do you think the author switched
sides?
According to Source B, how effective were Chiang’s tactics?
Han Su-yin was a Communist who took part in the Long
March. Does this change your view of Source B?
What does Source C tell us about the nature of the
Japanese occupation?
Why did the KMT lose support during the Japanese
invasion?
What could the KMT have done differently to avoid this
loss in support?
Why did the Communists have to use guerrilla tactics?
List the factors which helped the Communists gain support
from the peasants.